Investments and Savings

[dtaai-maai]

Ms Alba seems to have slipped under my radar until now...

jessica.jpg (4.26 KiB) Viewed 1088 times

I used to have an Auntie Jessie in Roehampton. Small world, eh?

(Sorry Mrs M)

What are you, migrant, a man or a mou- What's that, dear? Right away, my angel! Yes, I'm coming...

[paulsimkiss]

Info for Noz. I see a lot of Investment and Savings accounts that say tax free. I think this term can be missleading. These are generally offshore accounts (where you are not a resident or taxpayer in the country where the account is held). Therefore these accounts are exempt from tax to non residents of that country.

This missleading term ''TAX FREE'' can and does lead a lot of people to beleive ''Oh that's great I don't have to pay any tax to anybody ever''. False I am afraid.

Taxation can be complicated and easily out of date as rules and rates are always changing. So don't quote me word for word on the following.

The personal income tax laws in Thailand levy tax on a taxable person's assessable income. A taxable person liable to personal income tax is subject to withholding tax by the payer of the income and is required to file a tax return and pay the balance of any tax due on a yearly (calendar) basis.

Taxable persons

Taxable persons are both residents and non-residents.

A resident is a person who resides in Thailand at one or more times for a period or periods aggregating 180 days or more in a calendar year. A resident is liable to tax on income derived from Thailand sources, whether that income is paid onshore or offshore, and on income from foreign sources that is remitted into Thailand in the year in which it is earned.

A non-resident is a person who residents in Thailand for less than 180 days in a calendar year, and is liable to personal income tax only on income from sources in Thailand.

Foreign expatriates

A foreign expatriate, whether a resident of Thailand or a non-resident of Thailand, is liable to personal income tax on income derived from Thailand sources (i.e. from the performance of duties in Thailand) whether such income is paid in Thailand or outside Thailand.

If a foreign expatriate's residency commences in the year of arrival in Thailand, a foreign expatriate is also liable to personal income tax on any remittances of foreign source income, which is derived in the year of arrival.

Double tax treaties

Thailand has executed double tax treaties with over 50 countries and nearly all of these treaties contain a provision, which can exempt a foreign expatriate from tax on income earned from the performance of duties in Thailand, but this only applies in the case when all of the following three conditions are met:

• The expatriate is present in Thailand for less than 183 days in any twelve months period; and
• The remuneration is paid by an employer who is not a resident of Thailand; and
• The remuneration is not charged to any company or permanent establishment in Thailand.

Assessable income

Thai tax law prescribes eight categories of assessable income, as follows:

1. Income from hire of services (services rendered to employers);
2. Income from hire of work (from offices or positions held or services rendered);
3. Income from goodwill, copyright and other rights, annuities, etc;
4. Income from dividends, interest, share of profits, bonuses paid to shareholders and gains from the sale of shares;
5. Income from letting out property on hire (rent);
6. Income from performance of services by liberal professionals;
7. Income from construction contracts and hire of work where materials and tools are supplied; and
8. Income from business, commerce or industry etc, not specified above.

Assessable allowances and benefits

Assessable income also includes income received, not in cash but in kind. Allowances and benefits provided by an employer or other person, such as rent-free housing, children's school fees and return air travel for home leave etc, are additional assessable income for an expatriate under the Thai tax laws.

Capital gains

There is no capital gains tax in Thailand. Capital gains derived by resident expatriates are additional income subject to tax at the normal personal income tax rates. Capital gains derived by non-resident expatriates are subject to tax at the flat rate of 15%.

The amount of the capital gain is simply calculated by deducting the cost price of an asset from the amount of consideration received on disposal of the asset. The cost price of an asset is not indexed for inflation.

For personal income tax purposes, the consideration received is the amount of "proceeds derived" from a disposal of an asset, which may or may not be the market price of the asset, which is the rule that applies for corporate income tax purposes.

Interest and dividend income

Interest and dividends derived by a resident expatriate from foreign sources are subject to Thai tax in the case when the income is remitted into Thailand in the same year in which it is derived.

Interest and dividends derived by a resident expatriate from Thailand sources are subject to Thai withholding taxes of 15% and 10% respectively, and an expatriate may (at his option) exclude such taxed income from his computation of personal income tax.

Interest and dividend income derived by a non-resident expatriate are subject to the same prescribed rates of 15% and 10%. A double tax treaty may prescribe a lower tax rate for interest in certain cases but no tax treaty prescribes a rate lower than 10% on dividends.

Royalty income

Royalty income derived by a resident expatriate from Thailand sources is included in the computation of his personal income tax and is also subject to withholding tax on payment at the rate of 3%.

And similarly to other forms of income, if a resident expatriate derives royalty income from foreign sources and the royalty income is remitted into Thailand in the same year in which it is derived, it is subject to tax in Thailand.

Royalty income derived by a non-resident expatriate from Thailand sources is subject to withholding tax on payment at the rate of 15%, but a double tax treaty may reduce the tax rate to 5%, 8% or 10%, according to the type of royalty.

Tax exemptions

A foreign expatriate employee need not include the following types of income in a computation of personal income tax in Thailand:

• Income derived from a sale of immovable property that is acquired by bequest or by way of gift;
• Income derived from a sale of residential buildings if the income is spent to acquire a new residential building during a period of 1 year before and after the date of sale;
• Income derived from a sale of shares listed on the stock exchange of Thailand;
• Income from interest, provided that the interest is subject to 15% withholding tax at source; and
• Income from dividends or share of profits from a Thai registered company or mutual fund, provided that the dividends are subject to 10% withholding tax at source.

[paulsimkiss]

At the moment I can offer everyone.

Multi currency, safe and secure, fixed term accounts. For example:-

£££s 6.0% net pa over 1 year

£££s 7.0% net pa over 2 years

£££s 8.0% net pa over 3 years

Guaranteed, no fees, no hidden charges.

I live in Hau Hin and my office is at Soi 112.

[poosmate]

At the moment I can offer everyone.

Multi currency, safe and secure, fixed term accounts. For example:-

Rate for Baht please?

[paulsimkiss]

Rate for THB

6.5% net pa over 1 year

7.5% net pa over 2 years

8.5% net pa over 3 years

These rates will drop by half % 1st November.

[Noz]

Multi currency, safe and secure, fixed term accounts. For example:-

£££s 6.0% net pa over 1 year
£££s 7.0% net pa over 2 years
£££s 8.0% net pa over 3 years

Guaranteed, no fees, no hidden charges.

Thanks for all the info Paul. I'm intrigued re the above. Given UK interest rates are at an all-time low and you can't even get 5% for a 5 year fixed term sterling savings account, how can guaranteed rates of up to 8% be possible? Any more info you can give us? Are these Thai products?

[poosmate]

I am also very intrigued and would like more info on the security/safety and guarantee of these products.

[buksida]

Ditto - have sent you an email Paul.

[Pagey]

Paul :

I am also very interested as I invest in offshore accounts which are safe and protected (to some extent) by an investor compensation scheme. But currently only around 3% - 4% for a 1 to 5 year investment. So how are your investments safe ? Can you elaborate - by safe I would expect at least my initial investment to be guaranteed to be returned.

Thanks in advance for any info.

[barrys]

I would also be interested in more detailed info about this

[poosmate]

Paul.
I have just been offered 4% 11 term deposit with Bangkok Bank. I have a sizeable sum with them that has just finished fixed time deposit and will have to decide in the next few days to go with their offer. Unless you can do better with the same guarantee?

You have us all chasing your bait - Now back up your claims.

[paulsimkiss]

Hello everybody and thank you for your interest on this subject. To me this is a very interesting topic. A lot of you may well have funds already invested here, but you are not aware of it. When you go along to lets say Llloyds TSB bank and put in your £100,000 at 2% per annum, where does your money go? Well its not under the mattress to keep it safe for you. It is reinvested somewhere else in the world so that Lloyds can pay you your 2% and make substantialy more for themselves. All the major banks make nothing on day to day high street accounts, that's just the high street trap door, in most cases a loss maker. It's their investment business that makes all the money. Provided they don't buy Greek Bonds of course.

So how can I offer such high rates that are safe and secure? By telling you to put your money directly, at top rates in the same place as Lloyds puts it.

AUSTRALIA visit http://www.lmaustralia.com

It's just dead simple, while Europe and the States are skint and in recession, Australia is doing very nice thank you.

UK Base rate 0.50% - US Base rate 0.25% - Euro Base rate 1.50% - Great for borrowers, rubbish for investments and savings.

Australia Base rate 4.75%

Australia's abundant and diverse natural resources attract high levels of foreign investment and include extensive reserves of coal, iron ore, copper, gold, natural gas, uranium, and renewable energy sources. A series of major investments, such as the US$40 billion Gorgon Liquid Natural Gas project, will significantly expand the resources sector. Australia also has a large services sector and is a significant exporter of natural resources, energy, and food. Key tenets of Australia's trade policy include support for open trade and the successful culmination of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, particularly for agriculture and services. The Australian economy grew for 17 consecutive years before the global financial crisis. Subsequently, the Rudd government introduced a fiscal stimulus package worth over US$50 billion to offset the effect of the slowing world economy, while the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates to historic lows. These policies - and continued demand for commodities, especially from China -helped the Australian economy rebound after just one quarter of negative growth. The economy grew by 1.2% during 2009 - the best performance in the OECD - and by 3.3% in 2010. Unemployment, originally expected to reach 8-10%, peaked at 5.7% in late 2009 and fell to 5.1% in 2010. As a result of an improved economy, the budget deficit is expected to peak below 4.2% of GDP and the government could return to budget surpluses as early as 2015. Australia was one of the first advanced economies to raise interest rates, with seven rate hikes between October 2009 and November 2010. The GILLARD government is focused on raising Australia's economic productivity to ensure the sustainability of growth, and continues to manage the symbiotic, but sometimes tense, economic relationship with China. Australia is engaged in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks and ongoing free trade agreement negotiations with China, Japan, and Korea.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$882.4 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18
$858.8 billion (2009 est.)
$847.5 billion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.236 trillion (2010 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.7% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 130
1.3% (2009 est.)
2.6% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$41,000 (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18
$40,400 (2009 est.)
$40,300 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.9%
industry: 25.6%
services: 70.5% (2010 est.)

Labor force:
11.87 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 21.1%
services: 75% (2009 est.)

Unemployment rate:
5.2% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 49
5.6% (2009 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
30.5 (2006)
country comparison to the world: 110
35.2 (1994)

Investment (gross fixed):
27.3% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 32

Budget:
revenues: $399.3 billion
expenditures: $441.2 billion (2010 est.)

Taxes and other revenues:
32.3% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
-3.4% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 108

Public debt:
26.6% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
22.3% of GDP (2009 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.8% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 96
1.8% (2009 est.)

Central bank discount rate:
4% (31 March 2010)
country comparison to the world: 101
4.25% (3 December 2008)
note: this is the Reserve Bank of Australia's "cash rate target," or policy rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
7.279% (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 147
6.021% (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of narrow money:
$418.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
$334.4 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of broad money:
$1.391 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
$1.123 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of domestic credit:
$1.927 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
$1.618 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$1.258 trillion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 13
$675.6 billion (31 December 2008)
$1.298 trillion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:
wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry

Industries:
mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel

Industrial production growth rate:
4.3% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97

Electricity - production:
239.9 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17

Electricity - consumption:
222 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)

Oil - production:
589,200 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30

Oil - consumption:
946,300 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19

Oil - exports:
311,900 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39

Oil - imports:
716,700 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19

Oil - proved reserves:
3.318 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29

Natural gas - production:
42.33 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19

Natural gas - consumption:
26.59 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29

Natural gas - exports:
22.3 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10

Natural gas - imports:
6.56 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29

Natural gas - proved reserves:
3.115 trillion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12

Current account balance:
-$30.4 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 187
-$43.84 billion (2009 est.)

Exports:
$210.9 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
$154.8 billion (2009 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coal, iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment

Exports - partners:
China 21.8%, Japan 19.2%, South Korea 7.9%, India 7.5%, US 4.9%, UK 4.4%, NZ 4.1% (2009)

Imports:
$195.2 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
$159.2 billion (2009 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products

Imports - partners:
China 17.9%, US 11.3%, Japan 8.4%, Thailand 5.8%, Singapore 5.5%, Germany 5.3% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$42.27 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
$41.74 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Debt - external:
$1.268 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
$1.112 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$447.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
$424.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$364.8 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
$340 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Exchange rates:
Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar -
1.0902 (2010)
1.2822 (2009)
1.2059 (2008)
1.2137 (2007)
1.3285 (2006)

[poosmate]

Just another bar stool professional IMO

At the moment I can offer everyone.

Multi currency, safe and secure, fixed term accounts.

For Baht I found 5.5% but as for safe:

The investment is not a bank deposit and has a different risk profile to cash. Investors should discuss the investment and any associated risks with their financial adviser, including the potential risk of loss of some or all of the principal

How can this be guaranteed and secure.


More reason for me be sceptical of so called financial advisers

[chopsticks]

Many countries offer more attractive interest rates than UK, Europe and USA etc. but the risk is that currency fluctuations can quickly wipe out any gains. Agree though that in Australia it's been the other way round for the last few years.

[Nereus]

Exchange rates:
Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar -
1.0902 (2010)
1.2822 (2009)
1.2059 (2008)
1.2137 (2007)
1.3285 (2006)

Not sure what relevance that page of Australian statistics has, but you might be a bit more plausible if you got the exchange rates correct:

2006 Average Rates for AUD to USD
January 0.74877 July 0.75161
February 0.74226 August 0.7631
March 0.72851 September 0.75654
April 0.73406 October 0.75308
May 0.76424 November 0.77167
June 0.74149 December 0.78594


2007 Average Rates for AUD to USD
January 0.78357 July 0.86611
February 0.7821 August 0.83147
March 0.79212 September 0.84435
April 0.82616 October 0.89871
May 0.82485 November 0.9
June 0.84159 December 0.87306

2008 Average Rates for AUD to USD
January 0.88082 July 0.96361
February 0.90993 August 0.88551
March 0.92436 September 0.82392
April 0.92987 October 0.69251
May 0.94874 November 0.65708
June 0.95224 December 0.66908

2009 Average Rates for AUD to USD
January 0.68063 July 0.80252
February 0.65049 August 0.83534
March 0.6644 September 0.86036
April 0.7146 October 0.90482
May 0.76242 November 0.91855
June 0.80295 December 0.90207

2010 Average Rates for AUD to USD
January 0.91137 July 0.87402
February 0.88664 August 0.90122
March 0.91123 September 0.93437
April 0.92599 October 0.98158
May 0.8752 November 0.99008
June 0.8536 December 0.99154

The Australian Dollar only reached parity for the first time in around 30 years in 2011.